Robotic platforms are ubiquitous in today's society for performing a plethora of functions, and they are particularly advantageous for safely performing functions that could be dangerous to human beings. Some of these functions can include Explosive Ordinance Disposal, where a variety of robotic tools and techniques can be used advantageously. For these robots (and really for all robots), stability can always be a concern, as robotic systems can overturn during normal use. Overturning can temporarily incapacitate the system, and in some cases can cause permanent damage to the system and its payloads. The tip-over issue can sometimes be addressed by lowering the center of gravity of the robot, by establishing a large base with a lot of weight, so that the system is unlikely to overturn, or tip-over. These types of robots typically have a tracked chassis. The tracks can enable the robot to traverse a wider range of terrain and carry more versatile payloads than would be practical using its original wheels. But this approach can also require more power due to the robot weight, and this approach can also sacrifice mobility.
Other robotic platforms approach stability from a dynamic balancing approach, in which a high center of gravity allows for motors with proper torque and a feedback mechanism to dynamically balance the platform in a vertical manner, which can be similar to the way one can maintain balance when riding a unicycle. Robots that could combine these two concepts, a tracked platform and a dynamic balancing platform, could be extremely advantageous. Tracked platforms are known in the art where the tracks can re-orient into a balancing mode or a stable driving mode depending on the desired method of movement. But these systems must be configured in a tracked or wheeled mode prior to operation of the system, and once these systems are operating, they mode of operation cannot be changed. Other similar systems have potentially been developed, but nothing which mechanically converts an existing two-wheeled balancing platform into a tracked platform with dynamic balancing capabilities is known in the prior art.
Still further, in some instances balancing vehicles can be used as the basis for the design, as stability augmentation is already included in the base system. For these situations, it may be desirable to convert the balancing vehicle into a tracked balancing vehicle by making the track kit a readily installable accessory. Such a system can benefit from the advantages of a tracked robotic system as well as the stability control of an established balancing vehicle. The conversion kit can also save money, as alternate purpose-built tracked robotic platforms can be far more expensive when designed and manufactured from scratch, and can require additional development to implement control-system-based tip over prevention.
In view of the above, it can be an object of the present invention to provide a balancing robot, which can be converted to a tracked robot while still maintaining its ability to dynamically balance. Another object of the present invention can be to provide a kit for converting wheeled balancing robots to tracked balancing robots, to take advantage of the greater traction gained by adding the tracks, without sacrificing the dynamic balancing aspect of the robot. Still another object of the present invention can be to provide a tracked balancing robot that can switch between wheeled motion and tracked motion during the operation of the robot. Another object of the present invention can be to provide a tracked balancing robot that can autonomously reduce the tendency for the robot to tip over forward or backward. A further object of the present invention can be to provide a kit for converting a wheeled balancing robot, to a tracked balancing robot, which can easily be removed to allow the system to be quickly returned to its original wheeled configuration as mission demands change. Another object of the present invention to provide a balancing tracked robot, and conversion kit therefor, which can be easy to manufacture, and which can be used in a cost-efficient manner by converting commercial-of-the-shelf robots, which are already being manufactured using economies of scale.